Injury was added to the insult of a rough Week 2 loss for the Minnesota Vikings when it was revealed quarterback J.J. McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain during the game and would miss two to four weeks. With a trip overseas for back-to-back games coming in Week 4 and Week 5, with the bye week coming after that, informed ideas about McCarthy's return date made a lot of sense.
Still, there were signs McCarthy might not miss all that much time. He was not placed on IR, which would require him to miss at least four games (games, not weeks), and the quarterback the Vikings added this past week seemed to function as a very short-term arrangement.
A bigger question around McCarthy, due to his injury, has been if he'll make the overseas trip with the team. A long flight would not be good for any injury, and if he's not going to play in either game, he can stay home and rehab.
J.J. McCarthy injury update is highly optimistic for Minnesota Vikings QB
Before she took the sideline for the TV broadcast of Minnesota's game on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson shared a pregame update about McCarthy's recovery timeline.
"JJ McCarthy (high ankle sprain) didn’t go on IR bc he would’ve had to miss 4 games. He will be in Europe with the team the next two weeks and rehab there. Expectation is he gets the bye week after to recover and then returns vs Eagles. Timeline can be moved up if he feels good though. #vikings
ESPN's Adam Schefter also reported on Sunday that McCarthy will travel with the Vikings overseas.
"After today, Minnesota will become the first NFL team to play two straight international games in two different countries, next Sunday against the Steelers in Dublin, and the following Sunday against the Browns in London.
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, who is battling a high ankle sprain expected to sideline him for the next two to four weeks, will make the overseas trip."
Minnesota's entire training staff is surely traveling overseas with the team for the two-game trip. As long as the flight won't negatively impact his recovery, and based on the reports from Wolfson and Schefter it apparently won't, it makes sense for McCarthy to travel and rehab as he would if it was normal circumstances.
So, McCarthy's return date is lined up to be the Vikings' Week 7 showdown inside U.S. Bank Stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, October 19th.
But making the trip overseas with Minnesota is a sign his high ankle sprain is on the low end of severity when it comes to that injury, and staying around the team is generally going to be a great thing for the young quarterback.